6 — The Prince George Citizen — Tuesday, October 10, 1989 National 12 KILLED Hayride ends in tragedy Logs lie in a tangle at the scene of an accident that killed 12 persons after a logging truck collided with a haywagon Sunday afternoon in New Brunswick. CORMIER VILLAGE, N.B. (CP) — The track of tragedy is clearly discernible on Highway 945 in this small southeastern New Brunswick village. Almost two days after 12 people were killed and 45 injured, the marks of wildly skidding tires trace the final moments of a heavily loaded lumber truck as it smashed into a family hayride. On Monday, the day after the tragedy which touched virtually every home in this rural settlement of about 200, RCMP investigators were at the scene measuring tire marks, gouges and painted reference points on the road. About 300 metres from the crash site at the foot of a long, curving hill, heavy skid marks weave crazily across the narrow road. A little further, deep gouges mark the point where the tractor-trailer rolled on its side and plowed into the haywagon, spilling its load of logs on members of the Leger and McGraw families as they celebrated their annual Thanksgiving reunion. During a news conference at RCMP headquarters in Shediac, Const. Ken Fraser refused to say if he expects charges to be laid. “I would suggest it would be a few days before the cause of the accident is determined and also if there will be charges pending. “ An RCMP officer who declined to be named said witnesses told her how the truck’s load appeared to wobble as the vehicle came round the turn. Suddenly, a boom used to load and unload logs swung free, causing the truck to tip on its side. “We have heard the same thing but. . .that still has to be determined,” said Fraser. The victims were taking part in a reunion of the Legers and Mc-Graws, two families related by marriage. They were also gathered to celebrate a wedding over the weekend. The Legers have a fish-farming business, a store and a construction company. Well over half the people who live in Cormier Village are members of the two families. Jean Guy Leger, 33, was killed along with his wife, Simone, 29, and their six-year-old daughter, Isabelle. Their only other child survived. Patricia Leger, 30, and her daughter, Sylvie, 2, were also killed, as was Francine McGraw, 31. Three members of a Kentville, N.S., family died — Dr. John Laba, 34, and his daughters Julie, 8, and Jessica, 4. Another daughter, Jacqueline, 6, was in stable condition in hospital. A fourth daughter, seven-year-old Jennifer, was treated and released to the care of her grandmother in the Cormier Village area. Also killed were Collette Clouti-er-McGraw, 32, of Laval, Que., Helene Melanson, 30, of Lake-bum, N.B., and Martin Leger, 11, of Moncton. Twenty-nine people were still in two Moncton hospitals Monday evening, four in critical condition. A funeral mass for the eight New Brunswick victims, and a memorial service for all 12, will be held at the Roman Catholic church in nearby Cap-Pele on Friday morning. 'Tea party' staged to protest new tax TURKEY TOSS COMES OFF AS PLANNED WINDSOR, Ont. (CP) - About 1,000 people, many waving placards and criticizing the federal government, relived the Boston Tea Party to protest Ottawa’s proposed goods and services tax. As well as tossing tea into the Detroit River, they also promised to throw Finance Minister Michael Wilson into the drink for masterminding a tax that could raise the price of everything from used cars to milk. “Brian Mulroney, come to Windsor because we want to talk,” shouted organizer Gary Parent on Saturday. “Michael Wilson, you come to Windsor because we want to throw you in the river,” he said, warning the tax will lower the standard of living for senior citizens, middle-in-come earners and students. A mannequin, identified as the taxman, was pitched into the river as were plastic and burlap covered tea containers. The group plans to stage anti-tax events every month to keep the issue in the public eye. “This isn’t going to be a one-shot deal,” said Parent, president of the Windsor and District Labor Council. Organizers held the tea party to draw a parallel to the famous Boston Tea Party, a tax revolt that led to the American Revolution in 1776. As part of the crusade against the proposed tax, protest organiz- ers — who call themselves the Coalition Against Sales Tax — plan to set up video cameras on downtown street corners to tape people’s feelings about the nine per cent tax. The tapes will be sent to Wilson, who was invited to the rally but did not attend. The tax, still being drafted, will replace a manufacturers tax. It will apply to most consumer purchases but Wilson has promised relief for the needy. A federal committee of MPs holding public hearings has repeatedly been told to scrap the tax and go back to the drawing board or face a tax revolt and labor strife. A recent Gallup poll suggested Mulroney's support among Canadians has dropped to a record low of 28 per cent, due in part to the public’s perception of the tax. Depending on what option of the tax Wilson implements, products such as a container of milk or fried chicken will be taxed in some situations and not in others. High-cost items such as cavier, shrimp and smoked salmon purchased in grocery stores will be tax-free. Some of those attending the rally admitted they didn’t know all the details of the tax, but said the bottom line is they will pay more money and that alone was reason to show up. QUEBEC (CP) — The great Thanksgiving Day turkey toss from helicopters over a Quebec City shopping centre went off as scheduled Monday but nobody ended up with egg on their face. The turkeys were made of paper. It all went off as calmly as a chase after paper turkeys can be expected to go. A $5,000 prize was given away. Michel Audy, manager of radio station which organized the event, considers it a great success. And he said there had never been any question of using live turkeys. Reports the radio station was planning to drop live turkeys from the sky as a promotion stunt drew howls of outrage from citizens and stern protests not only from the Quebec branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals but the World Society for Protection of Animals as well. Audy showed the permit for the event granted by the Quebec lotteries and races board which licenses all contests in the province. The permit specifies paper turkeys were to be used. “We never thought this story would get so out of hand,” he said. The idea of dropping live turkeys from a helicopter over a shopping centre was the basis of one episode in the television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, several years ago. STATEMENT TO MULRONEY Disarmament role proposed TORONTO (CP) — The thawing of the Cold War has presented Canada with a historic opportunity to help guide the world toward nuclear disarmament, say a group of prominent scholars. The federal government should get rid of cruise missile testing, support a comprehensive nuclear test ban and expand the role of Canadian Forces in the United Nations, said a statement by the Canadian Pugwash Group. The statement, sent to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, also says Canada should get more involved in con-entional and nuclear disarmament. “Fundamental rethinking is needed in this country, as elsewhere,” said John Polanyi, 1986 Nobei Prize winner. Polanyi is confident Mulroney will heed the group’s advice even though it is contrary to much of his foreign policy and might bring Canada into conflict with its NATO allies. “It’s hard to guide one’s policies to the extent to which others might agree or disagree with them,” Polanyi said. “You have to make some decisions as to what is furthering the cause of world peace.” The University of Toronto chemistry professor accused Ottawa of Weekend death toll 51 Search for player widens being too inward looking because the emphasis it places on domestic issues, such as free trade. “Our future is tied up with the future of the world,” he said. Polanyi and 14 colleagues debated the issue on the weekend as part of the annual meeting of the Canadian Pugwash Group. Gold price TORONTO (CP) - Gold was quoted at $423 bid Cdn ($361 US) and $424 asked Cdn ($362 US) in mid-morning trading today by Deak International, a major gold and foreign exchange dealer. By The Canadian Press A highway accident killed 12 people on a hayride in New Brunswick and 11 people died in four car crashes in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in Canada. In all, at least 51 were killed, according to a survey by The Canadian Press from 6 p.m. Friday to midnight Monday. The survey excludes homicides, known suicides and industrial accidents. At least 12 people attending a family reunion were killed in a tiny New Brunswick village and 45 were injured Sunday when a trac-tor-trailer spilled a load of heavy logs on top of a hayride. Five of the dead were children, said hospital spokesmen in Moncton, 40 kilometres west of Cormier Village, the accident site. In Alberta, a mother, her daughter and a girl the woman was babysitting were killed Saturday when their car was hit by a Via Rail train at Irvine, about 290 kilometres southeast of Calgary. Alexis McLeary, 11, Shannyn Woodward, 11, and Woodward’s mother Dianne, 38, were killed in the crash. The woman’s son, Trevor, 8, was injured and is in stable condition in hospital. Two others were killed in separate vehicle accidents in the province during the weekend. In Saskatchewan, Dean Hastie, 18, of Regina, was killed early Saturday when his sports car slammed into a tree. In Ontario, three Ottawa-area teenagers died Saturday after their overcrowded car swerved in front of an oncoming truck and was sliced in half. Five others in the subcompact Mazda 323 were injured, two of them seriously. Paul Tessier, 19, and Kirk Quaile, 18, died at the scene. Jairet Verdon, 19, died later in hospital. The truck driver was not hurt. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $2000 for information leading to the arrest of someone involved in a murder, robbery or other serious crime. YOU WILL NOT BE IDENTIFIED OR REQUIRED TO TESTIFY! LU LU i§ LL HI anonymity & cash rewards Solve a crime... 564-TIPS SASKATOON (CP) — Two more Canadians — canine specialists with their dogs — have gone to Austria to help search for hockey player Duncan MacPherson. Terry Smith of London, Ont., and Roy Dasilva of Toronto went to Innsbruck during the weekend. Four other Canadians, including two computer specialists from British Columbia, a Saskatoon paramedic, a canine specialist from New Brunswick and a German shepherd, arrived in Austria on Saturday to assess the area where MacPherson, 23, disappeared Aug. 10. Duncan MacPherson, a former defenceman with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League, was due in Scotland Aug. 12 to begin a new player-coach job. He was last heard from two days before. The Canadians are in Austria with the financial help of several Saskatoon business people. CHS Essay Writing for the G.E.D. Are you currently enrolled in the G.E.D. Program and starting to panic at the thought of writing the essay component of the test? You are? Then this seminar is for you. On Saturday, October 14th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. there will be a seminar to prepare you to write the essay component of the G.E.D. Test. Place: CNC Room 1-310-B Fee: $12.00 Further information can be obtained by contacting the Continuing Education Division of Admission & Registration at 561-5801. o o r m a m O •hfTJ NEW CALEDONIA 3330 22nd Avenue, Prince George, B.C. V2N 1P8 Phone 562-2131 Twelve other people were killed in Ontario, including three who drowned, two who died of asphyxiation in a parked car and one who was hit by a train. Robert Vlaj, 20, was killed when he was hit by a CN freight train travelling at 100 kilometres an hour through Grimsby, Ont., just west of St. Catharines. In British Columbia, nine people died in traffic mishaps, including five people who were killed Friday in a three-vehicle crash near Prince George. RCMP said the five, including three children, were among seven people in a westbound car that hit another car signalling to turn left off a highway in the central part of the province. The first car rebounded and collided with an eastbound pickup truck. Dead are Kenny Elias, 23, Wesley Mitchell, 5, Victoria Lindsay, 26, and her daughters Christina Dunn, 7, and one-year-old Julia Engstrom. A Gatineau, Que., woman was one of six people who died in accidents in that province. Madeleine Migneault, 29, was struck and killed by a car Saturday while attempting to help two people injured in an overturned vehicle. Migneault and Michel Clement, 21, were running along Highway 50, near Ottawa, to reach the accident when they were struck by a third car. Clement was taken to hospital and was in satisfactory condition. Four people were killed in a separate head-on crash in the eastern part of the province and one drowned. In Nova Scotia, one person was killed and two others sent to hospital Saturday after a single-vehicle accident near Western Shore on the province’s south coast. And in Newfoundland, one person was killed in a car crash and a four-year-old boy died when a fire raced through a small bungalow in St. John’s. LISTEN TO US AND YOU COULD WIN $94 IN CASH AN EXCITING CHANCE FOR YOU TO SEE WHAT SOME OF THE MOST PROGRESSIVE BUSINESSES ARE DOING! In addition to displays and exhibits by a wide variety of companies, there will be demonstrations and seminars. The “Y" is providing a child-minding service that will ensure the youngsters have a great time too! Friday, October 13 - 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday, October 14 -11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Sunday, October 15-11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Prince George Civic Centre DOOR PRIZE: Sanyo Computer from comPuaniE o BUSINESS SYSTEMS The Smart Solution COMPUTER SYSTEMS Prince George THE MONEY Sponsored by: Chamber of Commerce A super place to get your questions answered about RRSP’s, investments of all types and more. Sponsored by The Prince George Society of Chartered Accountants Saturday, October 14 -10 a.m. to 4 p.m. _ Coast Inn of the North Exhibitors include banks, investment dealers, insurance firms and more. Seminars on money management and investment topics. COST: Adults $2.00 Children 12 & Under (accompanied by an adult) FREE Pass will get you into both shows on Saturday. SEE THURS. OCT. 12th CITIZEN FOR DETAILS Ml MOTORS AUTOBODY SHOP FOR ALL YOUR COLLISION REPAIRS & CUSTOM PAINTING 805 - 1st Avenue - 563-8891 ASK FOR TIM REIMER t